Newark residents take part in Operation Cleanup

Some Newark residents broke out brooms and dustpans Saturday to take part in the fifth annual Operation Cleanup.

They tidied up streets, sidewalks and the front yards of vacant homes. Residents also made an effort to clean up their own property.

?I started this as a vision just to see clean streets,? says the Rev. Cleveland Bash Jr. of St. Paul Sounds of Praise. ?I think we have the same right on 18th Avenue to have the same cleanliness as California [and] any other city or other state.?

Jeremy McClain, 25, says he's tired of people his age bringing down the neighborhood. ?I hope that this will let the people that destroy the community help build it up," he says.

Operation Cleanup attempts to get people who live in Newark?s South Ward to take pride in cleaning up their neighborhood. Many say that's a worthy cause, but that it won?t happen quickly.